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Judge Disqualifies State Rep. Candidate

A candidate for state representative in Northern Kentucky has been ruled ineligible to run.

Danny Seifried, the young Republican who sought to challenge to incumbent Rep. Adam Koenig in the GOP primary on Tuesday, will not be able to, after all.

Boone County Circuit Judge J.R. Schrand ruled on Friday that Seifried does not meet the residency requirements for the 69th House district which covers parts of Kenton and Boone Counties and the Cities of Florence and Erlanger. Koenig, who was first elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2006 and previously served as a Kenton County Commissioner, did not submit the legal challenge Seifried's residency. The suit was brought forth by resident Lucy Ruffle. State law requires a legislative candidate to live within the district for one year prior to the election. Seifried moved from his parents' home in Florence, outside of the district, to an apartment within the district after signing a lease on November 11, 2015.

The general election is November 8, 2016.

In court, Seifried argued that the one-year rule applies not to the date of the election but rather to the date that the election results are officially certified, which would be November 28, 2016.

Judge Schrand ruled that the Kentucky Constitution's intent is that the one-year rule applies to the date of the election and to the certification of the election's results, removing Seifried from the ballot.

"I respect Judge Schrand's decision, and although it is not the outcome we hoped, I want to thank all of our supporters who gave their time, resources, and prayers," Seifried said in a statement.

Koenig said in a statement that the decision will not alter any of his plans for the remainder of the campaign. “I’ve been knocking on doors since the beginning of this race and talking to voters of the 69th District,” Koenig said. “And even with this order, I’ll continue knocking on doors right up until the polls close next week on election day.”

Seifried's name will still appear on ballots in the district because they have already been printed, but there will be notices at the necessary precincts on Tuesday that he has been disqualified from the race and that votes for him will not be tabulated.